[Third Person POV]
As Danny flew back into Amity Park, he came to a slow hover above the skyline. His eyes scanned the streets below, shadowed by the afternoon sun, a strange mix of tension building in his chest. Ember followed just behind him, but when she noticed him stop, she hovered beside him, brow raised in confusion.
"What's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. Her blue flame hair danced lightly in the breeze.
Danny glanced back at her, a hesitant look in his eyes. "Before we go any further," he said, his tone more serious now, "I feel like I should warn you."
Ember narrowed her eyes, suddenly alert. "Warn me about what?"
"My parents," Danny said after a pause, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "They're a little... ghost crazy. Like, full-blown ghost hunters. If they see you, they might not stop to ask questions before trying to blast you into next week."
Ember's eyes widened. "Your parents? But weren't they—" She stopped, realization dawning on her face as the pieces clicked into place. Her expression softened with quiet understanding. "Oh... Danny."
He gave her a small, apologetic smile, then turned his gaze toward his house in the distance. "Just... be careful, alright? I don't want you getting caught If you suddenly appear in our house through the portal, they might attack first and ask questions never."
Ember gave a small nod, her gaze lingering on Danny's face longer than necessary. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes—concern, but she kept it buried as they flew silently toward his home.
Inside the Fenton household, the familiar sound of typing filled the air. Sam and Tucker were seated in front of Danny's computer, still deep into their research. Sam had her phone in one hand, while Tucker methodically typed out search queries with furrowed brows.
As Danny floated inside. Both of his friends looked back instantly.
"Oh, you're back!" Sam exclaimed, rushing to her feet with visible relief. "I'm glad you're okay."
Tucker turned and gasped dramatically. "Danny! You've been followed!"
Danny barely had time to react before Sam and Tucker jumped to action. They threw themselves in front of him protectively, their eyes locking onto Ember, who stood just behind him.
Tucker's voice was panicked, "Damn it, I can't believe she followed you all the way back here!" He looked around wildly, grabbing the nearest lamp like it was a holy relic meant to ward off evil.
"What do you want, Ember?!" Sam demanded, her fists clenched and ready. "Are you here to get revenge on Danny?! Because you'll have to go through us first!"
"What?" Ember said, taken aback. She blinked at them, her expression baffled. She turned toward Danny and found him standing behind his friends, face firmly planted in his palm.
Tucker pointed the lamp menacingly at her. "We've beaten you once! Don't think we're scared of you!"
"Yeah," Sam said, stepping forward, eyes narrowed. "You'll have to fight through us if you want to hurt him!"
That's when Danny finally lost it.
A snort escaped him, followed by quiet laughter that quickly turned into full-blown giggles. Ember, trying to hold it in herself, ended up bursting into a fit of laughter, clutching her stomach as she doubled over midair.
Sam and Tucker froze.
They looked at Ember. Then Danny. Then back to Ember, completely bewildered.
"Wait... are we missing something?" Tucker asked, lowering the lamp slightly. "Does this have to do with... that alternate reality thing you mentioned before?"
Danny wiped a tear from his eye and nodded. "Yeah. It's a long story, but... Ember and I didn't exactly start off on great terms. Still, things changed. She's... well, she's someone I trust now. A good friend."
Sam's face twitched. She crossed her arms tightly, her eyes narrowing as she looked between the two of them. There was something about the way Ember looked at Danny that made Sam's stomach twist uncomfortably.
"A good friend, huh?" she repeated quietly, watching as Ember smiled warmly at Danny.
Danny began to explain how their alliance had formed, how they'd fought together, helped each other out, even learned to laugh together. Sam and Tucker just stared at him, slack-jawed.
"You brought her chocolates on valentines day," Sam said through gritted teeth, her voice almost flat "Tell me you're joking."
"They were friendship chocolates," Danny replied innocently, blinking at her.
Sam scoffed, shaking her head. "You're really not the Danny we know, are you? This must really be some alternate universe. You would never do something like that"
"And you…" Sam muttered sharply, her eyes narrowing into slits as she stared Ember down. "I've got my eye on you. Don't think for a second you're off the hook."
Ember blinked in surprise at first, but then a slow, wicked smile curled across her lips as realization dawned on her. 'Oh... oh, this is going to be fun~' she thought, barely containing her amusement. 'I think I just found my new toy to play with for the evening.'
With a sly, flirtatious tilt of her head, she turned to Danny. "So, Danny~" she purred, dragging his name out, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your adorable little friends~?"
Danny blinked, confused by the sudden shift in her tone and demeanor. He hesitated for a moment but eventually shrugged it off. "Uh... sure. Ember, this is Sam and Tucker. Guys, meet Ember—though, I guess you already kind of met her..."
Sam crossed her arms and didn't respond, still glaring. Tucker, meanwhile, was staring at Danny's profile, his thoughts briefly straying.
'You lucky son of a—' he started to think, but then his mind jumped to all the chaos, danger, and pressure Danny had been under recently. His lips pursed, and he sighed. 'Never mind. Forget I said anything.'
Instead of commenting, he simply patted Danny on the shoulder with a small nod. "You deserve it, man."
"Huh?" Danny raised a brow in confusion, turning to look at him, but Tucker had already sat back down at the computer.
"Anyway," Tucker said, clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses as his fingers danced across the keyboard, "I've done some digging, like you asked. Got a bunch of stuff bookmarked for you."
Ember made herself comfortable on Danny's bed, lying across it like she owned the place. Her blue hair flickered with relaxed energy, and she shot a mocking smirk in Sam's direction. Sam's eyebrow twitched violently. If looks could kill, Ember might've been vaporized on the spot.
Danny, oblivious to the silent war of glares behind him, leaned in beside Tucker and began looking through the screen. Lines of saved articles, reports, videos, and headlines filled the monitor.
"I tried to organize it based on what I thought you'd be interested in," Tucker explained. "Stuff like global hero activity, political movements, and current threats. There's a ton here, so take your time."
As Tucker scrolled through a folder, something suddenly caught Danny's eye. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Wait—stop!" Danny said urgently, placing his hand on Tucker's shoulder. "Scroll back. Just a little."
Tucker blinked but did as instructed. The screen stopped on a local Star City news report.
"Dinah Lance, Star City's Beloved Hero and Vigilante Known as Black Canary, Confirmed Dead."
Danny went rigid. His eyes locked onto the headline, unblinking. The blood drained from his face as a cold, heavy weight sank into his chest.
"No way…" he whispered, pushing Tucker slightly to the side as he took over the controls. He frantically began typing, searching every major news outlet, every obscure forum, every possible lead.
Each article repeated the same devastating truth: Black Canary had been assassinated.
His hand clenched into a trembling fist, hovering above the desk. For a moment, he looked ready to slam it down in fury, but he stopped himself—his knuckles hovering just inches above the surface. His entire body shook with restrained rage.
"Damn it…" he hissed through gritted teeth.
Sam, now standing nearby, softened her expression. "Someone you knew?" she asked gently.
Danny didn't answer immediately. He kept staring at the screen, the words blurring behind a wall of frustration and grief.
"You could say that," he finally replied, voice low. "I didn't know her for long—maybe a week—but she was teaching me how to control one of my powers. She was someone I grew to like and respect."
There was a long pause before Tucker, hesitant and unsure, finally asked, "Are you... are you going to Star City next? To investigate?"
Danny exhaled slowly through his nose. "No. I already know who's behind it... or at least, I have a damn good idea."
He clenched his jaw. The name formed in his mind like a curse.
"The League of Shadows," Danny said darkly.
Sam's eyes widened. Tucker sat up straighter. Ember, from the bed, looked on curiously.
'Assassination, precision, no public trace—it fits their M.O. to a T,' Danny thought, his face contemplative. 'With Batman gone and Gotham gone to shit, it probably lost its value to Ra's al Ghul. So maybe now... he's setting his sights on Star City. On Green Arrow. Canary must've been in the way.' He hypothesized based on all the obscure knowledge of DC he held.
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